There are many stories reflected in the inscriptions on The Quaker Valley Quilt, but one is especially riveting. In particular, there is a block most likely inscribed with the name of former slave Mary Payne.

Although there is no direct evidence to confirm that the "Mary Payne" whose identity was attached to the quilt's inscription was the former slave, there are two reasons we strongly suspect it. First, a search for "Mary Payne/Pain" in the communities where the other inscribed Quaker identities were known to reside in the mid-nineteenth century does not produce other probable candidates among neighbors. Second, Mary Payne (1840-1928) had an intensely intimate relationship to the people whose names are inscribed on The Quaker Valley Quilt.

Mary Payne (1840-1928). Photograph courtesy of Sandra Kasabuske.

Mary Payne was born into slavery in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Her granddaughter Mary Goins Gandy detailed her family's harrowing plight of manumission, kidnapping, court proceedings, and eventual return to freedom in the book Guide My Feet, Hold My Hand.

Gandy based her book on family history she heard from her grandmother, whom she knew until the age of fourteen. She relied heavily on the research papers of Dr. Albert Cook Myers. His papers are known as "manuscript collection number 100" at the Chester County Historical Society in West Chester, Pennsylvania. In addition to collecting documents related to the case, Dr. Myers also recorded the oral history of the Payne family ordeal during interviews with his own Adams County, Pennsylvania, relatives.

On February 25, 1843, Mary, her mother Kitty Payne, and her siblings were freed by Mary Maddox, the widow of their former owner. Their Deed of Emancipation states: "Know all men by the presents that I Mary Maddox of the County of Rappahannock and State of Virginia for divers [several] good causes have this day emancipated and forever set free and by these presents do emancipate and forever restore to perfect freedom free from control, claim or demand of any and all person or persons whatsoever the following slaves [. . .] Kitty aged twenty seven, Eliza Jane aged five years, Mary aged four years, Arthur aged two years and George aged two months." According to Gandy's book, the family was personally escorted to Pennsylvania by Mary Maddox.

Mary, age four, and the rest of the Payne family group being restored "to perfect Freedom."

Courtesy of Debra McCauslin.

Following the widow's return to Virginia, her husband's nephew, Samuel Maddox, Jr., convinced the aging woman to deed her estate to him. Deciding the freed slaves were his rightful property as part of his newly acquired estate, Maddox hired a professional slave catcher, a man known as Finnegan, to help him retrieve them. Finnegan, "aided by a part of bad and reckless citizens from an adjoining county [. . .] in the dead of night approached the house where dwelt the unsuspecting victims, seized the mother and two children, gagged them, placed them in a covered wagon, and made their escape before measures could be used to arrest their progress." (Gandy.)

Early in the trip the carriage passed by a Quaker farm. The witnesses quickly spread the news of the kidnapping. The Quaker community rallied to aid the Paynes, including Cyrus Griest. The name of Griest's wife, Mary Ann Griest, is inscribed on The Quaker Valley Quilt.

The Griests are buried in a burial site listed on the National Parks Service's website as "National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom." The burial site was approved for the recognition largely because of Cyrus Griest's role in the rescue of the Paynes.

We'll continue our posts about the The Quaker Valley Quilt next time.

Selected Sources:

The authors of this post would like to thank researchers Debra McCauslin and Judy Pyle for so generously sharing their significant research concerning the family of quilt block inscribed-identity Mary Payne, as well as the historical community of Menallen Meeting, Biglerville, Pennsylvania. You can read more about this community in McCauslin's book, Yellow Hill: Reconstructing the Past Puzzle of the Lost Community at Yellow Hill (For the Cause Publications, 2007).

The authors are also grateful to Barclay Brooks, Clerk of Menallen Meeting, for access to The Quaker Valley Quilt and related research materials, and to Gaye Ingram for editing the original article.

Randolph J. Harris and Kelly M. Britt, application preparers, in the "Application for the Inclusion of the Burial Ground at Menallen" as a Site recognized by the National Parks Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

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Ann Hanna Hambleton

Ann was the mother-in-law of Philena Cooper Hambleton, the subject of Philena's Friendship Quilt: A Quaker Farewell to Ohio, and the great-aunt of Senator Marcus Hanna of Ohio.

American Quilt Study Group

Do you know about the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG)? If not, you should. The purpose of this non-profit organization is to establish, sustain, and promote the highest standards for quilt related studies, to encourage these studies, and to provide opportunities to disseminate the work of both academic and non-academic researchers. Membership in the AQSG entitles one to receive Uncoverings, an annual journal of the research papers presented at AQSG's yearly Seminar, and a quarterly publication titled Blanket Statements containing research papers, notes and queries, as well as AQSG and quilt world news. In addition, an annual directory is provided that lists the names, contact information, and interests of current AQSG members--a valuable networking resource that gives access to approximately 950 fellow quilt enthusiasts. Click on the quilt block above to visit AQSG's web site and learn how to become a member. The site also provides information about the organization's annual Seminar, its publication opportunities, its Quilt Study program, and the Technical Guides and other publications available to members and the general public. AQSG is also on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/American-Quilt-Study-Group/149056808116.

Quaker Quilts: Snapshots from an Exhibition

This pamphlet by Mary Holton Robare contains photographic and informational snapshots of quilts that were displayed in a three-day exhibit of Quaker Quilts held at Abram's Delight Museum in Winchester, Virginia, in 2014. The exhibit featured twenty-six quilts made between ca. 1840 and 2007. Click on the image to learn more about it.

Quilts and Quaker Heritage

Mary Holton Robare's book on selected quilts from an exhibition at the Virginia Quilt Museum in 2008. Click on the book to order and search by title.

Philena's Friendship Quilt: A Quaker Farewell to Ohio

In this 4th publication of the Ohio Quilt Series published by Ohio University Press, Lynda Salter Chenoweth presents the story of Philena Cooper Hambleton and the quilt made for her in Ohio in 1853 to take with her when she migrated to Iowa. To order, click on the book and then search by title.

Neighbors and Friends: Quakers in Community

Lynda Salter Chenoweth's second book based on her research into Philena's quilt tells the stories of those whose names appear on the quilt and places their lives in context. To order, click on the book and then search by title.

When This You See Remember Me

Also of interest by Mary Holton Robare. Schoolgirl Samplers of Winchester and Frederick County, Virginia. To order, click on the book, click "Store", then "Softcover Books" and search on title.

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Copyright

(c) 2011-2017 Lynda Salter Chenoweth and Mary Holton Robare. Absolutely no reproduction or distribution permitted beyond one copy for personal study. For additional permissions regarding text please e-mail lchen@saber.net. All images are reproduced with permission of copyright holders. Any commercial or online use is strictly forbidden.

Lynda Salter Chenoweth

Mary Holton Robare

About Us

Lynda and Mary are quilt historians experienced in researching and publishing information about quilts made by members of the Religious Society of Friends. Their particular interest is in 19th century inscribed quilts that document Quaker families and their communities.
Lynda lives in Sonoma,California, and is a writer, a quilter, a researcher, and a member of the Board of the American Quilt Study Group. Mary lives in Winchester, Virginia, and is a writer, a researcher, and a choreographer and dance instructor.